A longtime Delaware County sheriff's deputy is facing assault and reckless endangerment charges in Lehigh County after allegedly opening fire on his own car as the woman he lent it to attempted to flee, authorities said.

Gregory Todd Price, 53, of the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby, was arrested Tuesday by Allentown police and charged with one count of simple assault and three counts of recklessly endangering another person.

He has been suspended from his job pending the results of criminal and internal investigations.

According to an affidavit of probable cause written by the arresting officer, Price loaned his 2011 Dodge Nitro to a Delaware County woman and was expecting her to return it by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

When the woman, a 24-year-old from Collingdale, did not show up, Price "obtained a ride from Delaware County to Allentown to retrieve his vehicle," which he found in the 700 block of South Fifth Street shortly after 10 p.m.

"The defendant approached the (vehicle) while holding his Ruger pistol and demanded all occupants exit the vehicle," Detective Thomas Anderson, wrote in the affidavit.

Identified as Price's girlfriend in the affidavit, the Collingdale woman was with two other people in the car when, she told police, Price appeared "out of nowhere" and allegedly yelled, "Get the (expletive) out of the car!"

She said Price pushed his pistol through an open passenger side window, pointed it at her and threatened to shoot her if she did not exit the vehicle.

The woman told police Price fired three shots from behind the car as she attempted to drive away.

According to the affidavit, Price told police he fired two shots toward the tires after the vehicle "brushed against" him.

Price was arraigned and briefly jailed at Lehigh County Prison before he was released on $15,000 bail, which was posted by Diane's 24/7 Bail Bonds in Allentown, according to online court documents. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 8 before Magisterial District Judge Wayne Maura. All four charges are second-degree misdemeanors.

A sergeant with the Delaware County Sheriff's office, Price has been employed by the county since 1989.

"If everything is true, I'm very surprised. I'd be shocked," Delaware County Sheriff Joseph F. McGinn said. "The first thing we'll do is retrieve all of our equipment and he will be suspended pending an investigation. The criminal investigation will be handled by Allentown police and then we will conduct an internal investigation to see what, if any, policies were violated, which I assume there were.

"You don't do something like this without violating a policy."

McGinn was unsure whether the suspension would be paid or unpaid. Price's salary is $47,570, according to county records. He is one of 41 uniformed deputy sheriffs employed by the county.

McGinn said he was unaware of any relationship between Price and the Collingdale woman.

He added that it would be his decision whether to retain or terminate Price after the internal investigation is complete.

District Attorney Jack Whelan spoke with Lehigh County prosecutors Thursday and said his office would be looking into the case and the relationship between Price and the woman, who was arrested in a well-publicized drug sweep in Collingdale in September 2012.

Several sheriff's deputies participated in the raid, dubbed "Operation Bulldog," which resulted in more than 20 arrests. It was unclear Thursday whether Price was among them.

The Collingdale woman's case was transferred to the county's treatment court in October, an alternative given to nonviolent drug offenders who are committed to getting clean.

"From what I understand, she was at a halfway house in Allentown," Whelan said. "When I heard that, it immediately sent up a red flag. We are going to find out where she is in the system and how he had the opportunity to interact with her in his capacity as a deputy sheriff.

"I am going to investigate the extent of his involvement with this woman and any allegations of impropriety."

Law enforcement officers who know Price described him as a capable deputy sheriff and "good guy" who used to work part-time as a security officer at the Granite Run Mall Sears.

Whelan said the 9 mm pistol Price used in the Allentown incident did not appear to be county issued.

Court records state Price is being represented by the Lehigh County Public Defenders Office. The Daily Times was unable to reach anyone at the office before it closed at 4 p.m. Wednesday.